For preparation of dental materials as needed treatments of a patient's tooth or teeth dispensing devices are available which, for example, help extruding a material from a package, or help mixing one or more components to form a mixture. In recent years motor driven devices have been developed for the preparation of dental impression materials. Such automatic devices typically allow for automatic mixing and dispensing of two-component dental impression materials. Typically dental impression materials are used at larger amounts of several centiliters per treatment, and the automatic devices are typically provided with powerful motors to mix and dispense those amounts in a relatively short time. An exemplary device for mixing and dispensing a dental impression material is for example available under the designation 3M™ ESPE™ Pentamix™ from 3M ESPE AG, Germany.
Appropriate packages for use with such devices are available on the market, which contain individual components of the material. Typically the automatic mixing and dispensing devices have pressure plates that are movable for generally simultaneously extruding the material components from such a package through a mixer in which the components are mixed prior to the mixture is made available for use at a nozzle in the mixer. Some mixing and dispensing devices are configured for dynamically mixing of the components. Appropriate mixers typically have a moving part, for example a mixing rotor, for actively agitating the components while they are supplied through the mixer.
Although there is a variety of mixing and dispensing devices on the market there is a desire for facilitating the preparation and handling of dental materials. Further the preparation and handling of dental materials should be relatively inexpensive and convenient.